The Schomberg Cougars earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over the McLean & Dickey Orillia Terriers Thursday night to knot their best-of-seven, second-round playoff series at 1-1.
The host Cougars had a decided edge in territorial play, outshooting Orillia 44-26 in the hotly contested game at the Trisan Centre.
A slow start proved fatal for Orillia as Schomberg jumped out to a 3-1 first-period advantage. Mason Beck scored the lone Terriers’ goal in the opening frame.
In the second, it was more of the same as Schomberg poured 22 shots on Terriers netminder Wade Monague - who stopped all but one of them.
The Terriers, meanwhile, made good on their limited opportunities. Dylan Palomaki tallied a short-handed marker early in the period, before Taylor Rehling tied the game 3-3 with a goal 7:22 into the frame.
But then: a back breaker. With less than two minutes remaining in the middle stanza, Schomberg scored a short-handed goal to lift the Cougars to a 4-3 advantage.
In the third, the Terriers were frustrated by the home side and managed just eight shots on net; they could not get the equalizer past Schomberg goalie Tarantino Matteo.
While each team potted a short-handed goal, the squads’ power-play units were stymied. Orillia was scoreless on three man-advantage opportunities, while Schomberg went 0-for-5 on their power-play chances.
The Terriers return to home ice for the pivotal third game in the Provincial Junior Hockey League series. Game time Saturday night at Rotary Place in west Orillia is 7:30 p.m.
Game 4 goes Sunday afternoon in Schomberg. The two teams will be back in Orillia Tuesday night for Game 5.
